You spin me right round! Every planet in our Solar System rotates, or spins on an axis, causing day and night. Not every planet rotates at the same speed, however!

Now, via LSC’s Science on a Sphere interactive globe, you can see just how fast each planet rotates compared to each other. This visualization was created and shared with LSC by Dr. James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist currently working at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, using imagery from NASA.

Here are a few interesting facts about the differences in the planets:

• Venus spins so slowly, its day is longer than its year!
• Even though Jupiter is the biggest planet, it has the shortest day: just under 10 hours!
• Earth and Mars rotate at almost the same speed!

Want to know more about what’s happening with each planet? Stop by LSC’s Science on a Sphere interactive globe, located on the second floor in our Weston Family Lab for Earth and Space Exploration.

Jupiter,  Mars,  NASA,  Science on a Sphere,  space,  Venus